18 CEYLON BRANCH — ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY*. 



nister more than a month. The Lord's prayer, creed, tefi 

 commandments and catechism were already translated into Tamil 

 and Singhalese. They had also for the use of schools a cater 

 ehism on the doctrines of Religion, and the history of the New 

 Testament in Tamil compiled by Baldens. His Tamil cate- 

 chism on the Lord's Supper was translated into Singhalese, as 

 also from Dutch " The comfort to the sick, " to be read 

 publicly in places of worship* 



A letter dated 1681 give the following minute account* 

 * { £>ttring Divine Service, the children repeated out of "The 

 " comfort of to the sick/ 1 passages on the doctrines of religion, 

 " at the conclusion of which adults were questioned on what 

 " they had heard, and received further instruction. At each 

 " school a register is kept of the names of all christans of that 

 " station, as also of school children and their parents. These 

 t( registers are carefully inspected once a year, when the chil- 

 *' dren born in the intervals as also persons who came to re- 

 w side in the villages are noted down. Those who were lately 

 " admitted to school are likewise marked, and a separate list 

 " is kept of all woo have, left as largeerden. These are re- 

 u examined at each visitation to see that they have not forgot- 



65 ten what was learned at school. Against concubinage, a sin 

 st very common among this people, severe penalties are ap- 



66 pointed, whereby the evil is considerably checked, and under 

 44 God's blessing shall be still more checked. They who de- 

 s< sire to enter the married state appear with their respective 

 " friends first before the schoolmaster and other respectable in- 

 " habitants of the place ; the consent of the friends of the be- 

 " trothed being ascertained, and also the knowledge of the 

 " parties in the christian religion, and other particulars accord- 

 " ing to written instructions given in Sighalese being attended to 

 « ( by the master, the bans are published thrice, and at the 

 " next following visitation of the clergyman the marriage is so- 

 ** lemnizede From this brief account of the operation and state 



